Resourceful Lions target weakened Supergiants
Table-toppers Gujarat Lions appear well stocked with their bevy of allrounders, while Rising Pune Supergiants are struggling for variety
The Preview by Alagappan Muthu
28-Apr-2016
Match facts
Friday, April 29, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
Form guide
Rising Pune Supergiants WLLLL (last five completed matches)
Gujarat Lions WWLWW
Gujarat Lions WWLWW
In the spotlight
So what is missing from the Supergiants bowling? Variety, perhaps. Ishant Sharma and RP Singh are useful with the new ball but are liabilities in the final overs. Thisara Perera, Mitchell Marsh and Rajat Bhatia bowl wicket-to-wicket and can be lined up. Ashok Dinda brought an infusion of raw pace and trumped Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, but he struggles with consistency. R Ashwin has the potential to keep the batsmen guessing, but he has bowled his full quota in only three of six games.
How will the Lions middle order cope if the onus falls on them to rebuild an innings? A lot of their runs have come via the openers, which means Bravo, James Faulkner and Ravindra Jadeja have faced only 109 balls in 13 innings among them.
Team news
With du Plessis out for six weeks, Supergiants could bring in 24-year-old Australian batsman Peter Handscomb at the top of the order. Handscomb has a T20 hundred to his name and was the third-highest run-getter in the Sheffield Shield with 784 in 11 matches.
Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Peter Handscomb, 3 Steven Smith, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Mitchell Marsh, 6 Saurabh Tiwary, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Rajat Bhatia, 9 R Ashwin, 10 M Ashwin, 11 Ashok Dinda
Finch sustained a hamstring injury two weeks ago, but yesterday was the first game he sat out. Even if he recovers, it would put Lions in a tough spot because Smith and McCullum have had explosive results and Faulkner's inclusion makes the team look well-rounded.
Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 James Faulkner, 7 Ishan Kishan, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Pravin Tambe
Pitch and conditions
The pitch at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium offered substantial turn on Sunday when the hosts lost to Kolkata Knight Riders, which led to stinging critiques from both captain Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming. Tomorrow will be the second-last match played in Pune due to the Bombay High Court ruling that the IPL move out of the drought-hit state.
Stats and trivia
- McCullum (300) and Smith (280) are among the top-five six-hitters in T20 cricket
- Supergiants have conceded runs at 7.66 per over, which is the third-best economy rate among all teams this season
Quotes
"You can come in with fresh ideas and you can build your culture from day one rather than perhaps having a pre-existing culture, or even sometimes some poor experiences of the past can also weigh you down as well."
Gujarat Lions batsman Brendon McCullum on the advantages of being in a brand new team
Gujarat Lions batsman Brendon McCullum on the advantages of being in a brand new team
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo